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Showing posts from August, 2015

An Afternoon of Art in Chattanooga

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The Hunter Museum consists of a "mansion wing" and a "modern wing".  The modern wing serves for the special exhibits and collections.  The mansion contains the permanent collections of the museum. As you can see, it was a marvelous afternoon to be in Chattanooga.  Almost fall-like. Jennifer and I enjoyed some art in Chattanooga today.  It was a fun thing to do with her brother who is visiting from out west and her parents who live near us.  I enjoy going to Chattanooga because there are a lot of cultural attractions there, it is much closer to our home than Atlanta and it is easier to get around in. This trip we wanted to see the Monet and American Impressionism  exhibit at the Hunter Museum of American Art .  We have visited the museum a couple of times in the past but not recently and apparently not since I began this blog. Of course, we are both fans of impressionism so this was a perfect opportunity to do something as a family and and get reacquainte

Triple Plays and PBRs at Dreamlake

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Jennifer and I arrived early and got to spend some time on Dreamlake all by ourselves.  This is a shot of the shaded deck near the dock. Ron, Eileen, Mark, Clint, and Jennifer at the picnic table.  You can see the lawn chairs in the distance where we sat and watched the sunset over the 8-acre (or so) open field there.  The dog seated next to Eileen is Ginger.  Lily, the oldest dog (and person) this year, can be spotted laying to the left of the table. Except for on Cumberland Island, where there are 'Dillos there are dogs.  The cabin at Dreamlake as seen from the picnic table.  We 'Dillos have been visiting here since the early 1990's. It has undergone numerous alterations during that time. Last weekend was the annual Cumberland Island Armadillo sojourn to Dreamlake .  The three-day affair was filled with the usual great food, drinking, swimming, relaxing, music, eclectic conversations that naturally happen whenever we get together.    Mark was kind enough to

Reading The Festival of Insignificance

Ramon wants to see a Chagall exhibit but the line is too long and he doesn't want to deal with all the people so instead he decides to take a walk in the park.  Simultaneously, Ramon's friend, D'Ardelo, has just come from a doctor visit where he learned the results of tests as to whether he has cancer, but D'Ardelo received good news.  No cancer.  He is walking happily along, thinking about his upcoming birthday, when he encounters Ramon in the park. So begins Milan Kundera's 2013 novelette, The Festival Of Insignificance .  This is his first novel-like work since Ignorance (2000).  Long-time readers know that Kundera is a special writer to me .  I was excited a couple of years ago to learn that he had written a new "short work."  When the English translation from the French became available in late June I bought it immediately.  I read it very quickly over the course of two nights. It is only 115 pages.  I savored the overall feel of the prose.  It

Blue Moon Over Destin

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I took this photo yesterday morning about 6AM central time. It has been about 3 years since we last vacationed in Destin, Florida .  This time we were lucky enough to be there for the blue moon - which only comes around every 32 months or so, about 2.7 years .  So, literally, our trip back to the wonderful emerald water and beach there was " once in a blue moon ." Jennifer and I went out and watched the moon rise on Friday night but our attempts to capture it in a photograph were hindered by darkness and overcast conditions.  It rained almost every afternoon while we were there this time.   I woke up early, as usual, the next morning and went out on the beach alone and took some photos of the moon as it was setting in the west, the beach and water lit by the pinkish hues of the dawn. This year we took our daughter, Avery, and her boyfriend with us.  It was a wonderfully slow-paced, relaxing time. Typical day on vacation... Rise early, make coffee, have a cup w